Solid ground under your feet
Do you see those footprints in the sand? Whether on the way to school, the cornfield, the church or the market you’ll see them. In Malawi walking distance is a subjective term. Sun or rain, far or near, people do everything on foot.
If we pressed their footprints, we would discover a life in which hunger, fear, broken families and corruption are “normal” occurrences. A life in which you deal daily with witch doctors and evil forces. A life where you live day to day, and the likelihood of an independent future is very slim.
Amidst this reality, we do our work. In those villages, our children are born. There, in Southern Malawi, our six childcare centres are located. There Timotheos works with underprivileged orphan children to lead them on their way to finding solid ground for under their feet. To a future where they can care for themselves and their environment.
This is not always evident, because the reality is that sometimes we don’t get the desired outcomes in our work. We are honest about this. We do not like to talk without taking action. We strive to be practical and realistic.
Our work demands a well-founded approach. We sincerely desire to utilize our sponsor funds to make a significant difference in the lives of the people. It means that we are sometimes forced to make difficult decisions. It is better to discontinue a project that yields too little even if this is opposed to our hopes and expectations. Every day more than one thousand children visit our childcare centres. A lot of them are orphans. Each centre has its own kindergarten and primary school, a church, an orphanage, and a ‘daycare’. The students get education and care from our local staff. After eighth grade they move on to our own secondary school or another local school, to eventually choose a field of study or vocational training.
Our humanitarian work also gives us the opportunity to bring the Word of God into the lives of children and their families, and we do this gladly because we believe that God alone can and will bring real change to children, families and villages. We are just a simple means to this.
Together with the local Reformed church we teach the Bible, and our students receive catechism. We also organize training sessions to spiritually equip parents and staff. Our goal is that the people will soon have solid ground under their feet, but our desire is that one day they will all learn, by grace, to press Christ’s footsteps.
